Something to Think About
by Elle Reez
Summary: Frozen, but mainly Anna, in Kristoff's point-of-view


Kristoff had never thought of women and love.

Sure, they were gorgeous beings to be respected, but he never considered pursuing love, much less settling down. He had much more to worry about. Even the occasional meeting that his fellow ice harvesters pressured him into didn't make him feel anything other than unfulfilled. They were great women, don't get him wrong, but they grew irritating. They always wanted more from him, they always wanted him to change. What was the point, anyways? The ice business was a year-long commitment that paid only enough to subsist. He couldn't settle down, not yet. What was the point if he could barely feed himself and Sven?

So, throughout his first years of adulthood, he placed his job before women.

Princess Anna of Arendelle was no exception to this rule. Although the kingdom likes to believe that Kristoff fell in love at first sight, he initially found her irritating, perhaps even more so than the other women. She was too talkative, too idealistic, and too trusting. In addition, he spent most of his life distrusting the rich because they were the ones who enjoyed to swindle him the most. Seeing the well-dressed girl in Oaken's had initially made him wary. What would a princess, much less a rich girl, be doing in a run-down store like that?

Although, he was very amused at her attempts at being authoritarian and grateful that she bought him the pickaxe, rope, and carrots. The latter was the only reason why he helped her. He had a strict policy about repaying debts.

The more he talked to her, the more his opinion of her dropped. From what he learned, true love and happy endings did not magically occur in a few hours, no matter what the fairy tales tried to tell children. Even the trolls, however romantic they were, were not that foolish.

Then she had to crash his new sled. After that, his opinion of her plummeted. He explicitly stated that he didn't take people places, and that was why. Someone always caused something to crash and burn, and she, quite literally, did just that. All of those months of paying it off were ruined in seconds.

Although, he couldn't help but impressed with her quick thinking. She did save his life twice in one minute, which had to be a record somewhere. She would have been great for the morale of the ice harvesters if she weren't so soft. He felt that she should repay him for crashing his sled (for his policy went both ways), but he did feel guilty about considering to leave her on her own. Only slightly. So, reluctantly, he stayed with her.

Along the way, he noticed her moments of bravery. Maybe she was a bit too confident in her abilities (because asking someone to change only does so much), but her courage was admirable. Someone that willing to help someone they cared about despite the risks involved was definitely special. Although she was too naïve sometimes, and dangerously so, her full trust in him was astonishing. Usually, people found him intimidating due to his height and build. He wasn't sure what he felt, but he felt a surge of protectiveness for her. He knew he had to keep her safe. It was indeed a crazy trust exercise.

After he put her down, all he could do was stare after her in awe.

He entered the impressive ice castle, even though she told him to stay behind. Although Anna trusted the queen, he didn't. Although she saw her misunderstood sister, Kristoff saw a dangerous woman. She could trust him all she wanted, but he definitely didn't trust her judgement. Although she was a quick thinker, she wasn't very good at preserving her own life. As he made it to the top of the impressive ice stairs, he saw Anna fall to the ground. He slid across the ice and guided her to help her stand, resisting the urge to say, "I told you so." She said she was fine, so he immediately withdrew his arms. Despite her softness, she was definitely strong enough to handle herself. Then, Her Majesty conjured an ice monster. He put his arms back around the stunned Anna to pull her away from it.

The ice monster chased them away from the ice palace, and he was again impressed with her quick thinking. Although little miss feisty pants was the cause of the marshmallow monster's anger, they would have gotten killed if it weren't for her resourcefulness. Having Anna around must have done something to improve his luck, even though she was at fault for most of their problems. He couldn't help but be even more annoyed, yet even more impressed. It bothered and fascinated him. She really needed to worry about herself more often.

When her hair turned whiter, he remembered. She was the same girl who Pabbie healed a long time ago, the same girl Kristoff asked about and received no reply. Although he couldn't remember Anna's younger face very well, he remembered seeing colorful swirls and pictures dancing above her and her family. The trolls never gave him details, but spending time around magical beings for years helped him understand. He berated himself for not remembering earlier. She was the one who, although unintentionally, helped him find a family. He had to repay her in some way. So he took her to meet the trolls.

That evening, as they stopped to eat some rations that Kristoff had salvaged, they had their first genuine conversation, one without him teasing her. She had asked about his ice business, and it turned into a conversation about their lives. Both of them had been lonely for a long time, but Kristoff at least had Sven. She had nobody. Except for Hans. Kristoff was still wary about him being her true love, but if he kept her from being lonely, well, he must have been a decent guy. Something inside him stirred, something that still made him uneasy, but he tried to ignore it. He had to try to trust her.

She grew cold, and he instinctively raised his arms to warm her, but withdrew them on second thought. Protecting her was one thing; wrapping his arms around her to warm her was meant for her prince. He was grateful for the vents nearby. When he talked about his family, she was also genuinely interested, which was a first.

Then she tried to leave, and he had to hope that the trolls would wake up soon so she wouldn't think that he was crazy. He forgot that normal people wouldn't expect his family to be magical beings.

While they were there, Anna collapsed. He caught her again, but he couldn't save her from the curse. If the trolls were right, if a true love's kiss could help her then he couldn't do anything. But he could help her one more time. He could get her back to Hans. To save her, he had to trust that Hans was her true love. He had to fully trust in Anna's judgement.

After all, princesses belong with princes and ice harvesters belonged with ice.

From the Valley of the Living Rock to Arendelle, he, Sven, and Olaf rode nonstop with her in his arms. She grew colder and colder, and he feared that she wouldn't make it. During that time, her life was, quite literally, in his hands. Sven must have also understood, for he galloped through the deep snow faster than he had in years. Kristoff removed his hat, placed it on her white-streaked head, and urged Sven to go faster. He prayed to whatever gods were listening to him to keep her safe.

They arrived in Arendelle when the sun fully lit the morning. The kingdom was still completely covered in ice. He adjusted her cloak around her small body, hoping that it would keep her from shivering so hard, and held her close. She felt so much smaller in his arms than he thought she would. The ever-selfless Anna asked if he would be okay, and he chuckled. She really did have to worry about herself more often.

Once the castle doors shut, once they separated her from him, he had to trust that she would be safe in the hands of the castle hands and her true love. He trudged out of the kingdom and back up the mountain, back to where he belonged, away from what finally made him feel something.

Suddenly, Sven stopped him in his trails. He couldn't understand the damn reindeer's attitude. Anna was with her true love, and that was the end of it. She would be saved, the queen would be saved and back on her throne, and everyone would get their happy endings. And he would remain an untrusting ass still struggling to make ends meet. Everything would be how it should be.

The reindeer gave him a look of disbelief. _Aren't you forgetting something?_

The reason why he could never trust anyone was that, when he did, they were full of shit. He had an inkling that they were, but he trusted them anyways. And he was disappointed each time. The reason he could never believe in the bullshit that was the concept of true love was because of the past. Love had to be earned. Love had to be accepting. Love had to be unconditional. You can't earn unconditional love after one evening. Love was difficult, draining, and stressful, but it was also free, genuine, and precious. You can't figure that out in one evening.

When the storm worsened, he knew that Hans of the Southern Isles was full of shit.

He had to go back to protect her. He kicked himself internally for not listening to his instincts. Although Anna could hold her own, he understood that the cold made every task much more difficult. She needed help as soon as possible. He couldn't kiss the curse away, but there had to be something that he could do. Hell, he'd find a prince for her. He and Sven went into the storm together, as they always did, and went to find her. He silently thanked Sven for reminding him about what he believed.

When the storm subsided, he saw her. He heard her weakly calling out to him, but he didn't bother to think about why. What was important was getting to her.

But he couldn't reach her in time. Anna had chosen that. Instead of saving herself, she decided to save the queen. Before the sword made contact, the curse had taken her, and she was gone. Her icy form was still protective, still brave, still strong. She always managed to do the unexpected.

Then the curse lifted. The kingdom is unaware about how the eternal winter stopped, but Kristoff believes that Anna saved herself through her own bravery and love. Her own act of true love had broken the curse.

They were together on the boat. Unfortunately, Hans was with them. He went after him, but Anna stopped him with a gentle smile. He trusted that she would be able to take care of herself.

The best part of that day was when little sweet feisty pants punched Hans Westergaard of the Southern Isles in the face.

Princess Anna made him believe that true love existed. Of course, he never bought into the idea of having a "one true love" and never will, but love could be a reality for him. Solitude wasn't an option for him anymore, not with Anna still around.

Love really was something to think about.

* * *

 **Also a character study of Kristoff. This was really fun to write.**

 **I might make this into a full story when I get better at writing. But, for now, it functions pretty decently as a one-shot.**

 **If you note a comma splice in the first chapter, that was done on purpose. If you feel like asking why, message me or something.**


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